Here’s the Mirrors sound of Dick Hyman and “The Group,” that great sound that made “Heat of the Night” explode on both the pop charts and the Rhythm and Blues charts! —the unique sound that shot Mirrors up through the LP charts in 1968! Dick Hyman and “The Group” is actually a trio… but you’ve never heard a trio like this. For one thing… It’s a quartet: piano, organ, bass and drums. The incredibly talented hands of Dick Hyman creating some of the most exciting piano-and-organ performances that have ever been recorded.

On Sweet Sweet Soul, Dick Hyman and “The Group” created more of that original Mirrors sound and something extra, too! A fresh, new sound, a fresh, exciting musical color created by Dick Hyman for Sweet Sweet Soul —a new kind of soul sound built on a mixture of organ and clavinette.

Here’s the exciting Dick Hyman’s versions of the big R&B hits, plus his sweet soul treatment of unforgettable standards. Old sound and new sound —it all comes out sweet, sweet soul for Dick Hyman and “The Group”.

"Even allowing for Hyman’s versatility, constantly displayed throughout his career, it comes as a surprise to hear him playing funky, downhome organ. The second surprise is that he does it with Bob Haggart and Bob Rosengarden, more typically associated with mainstream swing.

The first dozen tracks come from the Mirrors album, the rest represent the Sweet Soul Music release, both of which attracted a degree of popularity in the late 60s. Hyman’s organ parts were overdubbed, but we can’t see the join. A simple browsing of the titles immediately tells the potential listener of the funky direction this trio mainly heads in. The playing is fine, of course, but a good number of the tracks last less than three minutes, meaning improvised contributions are limited. There’s also little embellishment of note and the overall treatment seems to have been aimed at part-time or toe-dipping music lovers who thought they might have a taste for jazz rather than the committed jazzer.

However, the musicianship is unmistakably first-class, as one might expect, leaving us wanting more and imagining what might have happened if they’d been able to stretch out further. That would have attracted a fourth star.